Editor's note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
San Jose isn’t the only place in the Bay Area to watch Macklin Celebrini play hockey.
If you’re lucky, in the offseason, you might see Celebrini, or one of his brothers, Aiden or RJ, working with skills coach Phil Huynh in Livermore or Dublin.
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The Celebrini brothers have been working with Huynh since 2020, after father Rick Celebrini, director of sports medicine and performance for the Golden State Warriors, reached out.
Huynh, whose parents were Vietnam War refugees, fell in love with hockey growing up in Canada. He has been a coach for over 20 years, the last nine in Tri-Valley.
“It was during COVID," Macklin told San Jose Hockey Now. "Me and my brother were kind of looking for somewhere to skate. All the rinks were shut down. We were looking around, and one of our friends that we knew, he skated with this group up in Livermore. So we started asking around and then met Phil, and things went from there.”
Macklin was about 13, Aiden 15 and RJ eight at the time.
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“Those boys, their dedication, their love for the game was very apparent from the very first session,” Huynh recalled.
Huynh is proud to still be a part of shepherding that love and dedication. Before the 2024 NHL Draft, the future No. 1 overall pick skated with Huynh for a couple of days. In October, RJ was in town to watch his brother’s NHL debut and skated with Huynh.
“That's the thing with Phil," Macklin said. "He's so open to suggestions and open to what we want to work on, and different things we feel we need to work on. So he's always out there listening. He does a great job of complementing that, also watching our film and picking out things in our game that he feels that we can improve, makes a big difference in our games.”
“He's just a phenomenal person, first and foremost, and hockey coach," Rick Celebrini told SJHN in April. “What he's done for not just RJ, but all three of the boys, has just been so appreciated. He's been this resource in the Bay Area for us since the boys, since we got here, that's just been invaluable.”
“Macklin loves to score goals, so he naturally just wants to work on a lot of shooting skills,” Huynh laughed. “But it's really a collaborative approach. When he comes back, just getting feedback from him and what his team coaches are conveying to him, that's really how we formulate our plan, so that we maximize our time together.”
That hockey’s next great family — Aiden, a defenseman, was a Vancouver Canucks’ 2023 sixth-round draft pick and RJ is a prolific goal-scoring forward too, according to Huynh — call the Tri-Valley a home base speaks to how much elite hockey has grown in the Bay Area, beyond the San Jose Sharks and Jr. Sharks, where Macklin played in 2019-20.
Huynh is the director of Tri-Valley Hockey Academy, the only hockey/academics school in Northern California.
“For elite [youth] players, the biggest challenge that they're really faced with is lack of access to ice time,” Huynh said. “Most hockey players are playing maybe a couple times a week. For the elite players that are trying to pursue collegiate and professional level, it's just not enough. So our student-athletes here, a typical day at the Academy, they skate twice a day, and then they have an off-ice training, coupled with a video breakdown to help them with their hockey IQ.
"We have this holistic approach that [also] brings in specialists, whether it's nutritionists or sports performance coaches, that really enhances their athletic experience. But obviously, not sacrificing their academics.”
Also, per USA Hockey, local youth hockey club the Tri-Valley Bulls/Blue Devils/Lady Blue Devils, at over 450 registered players, is a top-five youth hockey club in California. Huynh coaches with them too.
“I know that it's pretty busy out there,” Macklin said, “and it's tougher and tougher to get ice, the more you go.”
And it might just get tougher and tougher to get ice time in Tri-Valley, with adopted son Macklin's arrival on the Sharks.
“Mack gives families across the Bay Area not only a player, but a team to really cheer for,” Huynh said.
And, someone to emulate.
But for Macklin, Tri-Valley and working with Huynh is just a home away from home.
“It's actually probably the reason why we moved out to Livermore, to have the ice so close to our house, whenever we come back for break or just to see my family," Macklin said, "it's nice to know we always have ice, and we always have a great skills coach down here."
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